First lady Melania Trump appeared at a press conference at the White House on Wednesday with a humanoid robot developed by robot company Figure AI. The two waltzed together on the red carpet, and Bott gave a short speech in which she said, “I’m grateful to be part of this historic movement to provide technology and education to our children.”
Shortly after these statements, the machine made a noise and left the room, disappearing.
The bizarre scene was part of the first lady’s new initiative, Fostering the Future Together Global Summit, which invited international leaders from around the world to discuss ways to empower children through educational technology, including AI.
This event easily evoked dystopian visions of the future. In that vision, a humble (human) schoolteacher was replaced by a stack of servers shaped like a Terminator who could walk and speak Latin. In fact, in her speech, the first lady asked attendees to imagine a future in which humanoid robots serve as the ultimate educators of the world’s children. (The event coincided with the Trump administration announcing the creation of a separate technology council staffed by Silicon Valley’s jet-setting executives.)
“Imagine a humanoid educator named Plato,” the first lady said. “Now you have instant access to classic studies in literature, science, art, philosophy, mathematics, history, and more. The entire corpus of information on humanity is now available in the comfort of your home. Plato provides a personalized experience, tailored to each student’s needs. Plato is always patient and always available. As expected, our children will develop deeper critical thinking and independent reasoning skills.”
“We are honored to be invited to the White House by First Lady Melania Trump,” the Figure AI X account posted on Wednesday.
The first lady’s comments are clearly positive and do not reflect the current state of robotics and edtech, or what will happen in the near future. Still, the idea that AI and technology can be used to automate learning (and in many ways replace human educators) is gaining popularity in the tech industry. Such ideas have been repeatedly promoted by the White House.
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Over the past year, educational experiments like Alpha Schools, a network of private schools that use AI to rapidly teach children, have garnered attention and media attention.
The Trump administration has actively embraced these experiments while simultaneously attacking the traditional public education system.
Education Secretary Linda E. McMahon, who is in the midst of shutting down the very institutions she is charged with running, found time to visit Alpha School’s campus and recently praised the “opportunities” promised by the education chain there.
“Alpha Schools is reimagining K-12 education by equipping students with practical AI skills and preparing them for a rapidly evolving, technology-driven workforce,” the administration recently said of McMahon’s visit.
Melania Trump’s event on Wednesday similarly emphasized that the administration sees a role for the technology industry in the future of education in the United States, with President Trump acknowledging the “participation of America’s largest technology companies, reflecting the growing role of the private sector in supporting safe and effective education innovation.”
